Who's the Criminal, Tanteisan?
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: There are people out to get Kid and they are willing to use the detective to do it. Hakuba had thought he understood the fine line between right and wrong until he crossed it. Now he doesn't know - What side he's on, or which one he's supposed to be on.
1. Change of Rules

Heh. Started another one. When will I learn? ^_^

**This story is a two parter and written in Hakuba, first person, perspective**

_Please tell me if you like my stoires in first person or third person better._ I've only written Kaito in first person before, so I'd like an opinion on which is better  
>considering I can write in both quite easily<p>

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><p><strong>Who's the Criminal, Tantei-san?<strong>

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><p><em><strong>...<strong>_

_**...**_

_Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it...  
>Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.<br>Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.  
>But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,<br>then accept it and live up to it. _

_-Buddha_

**...**

_**...**_

_**Chapter One: Change of Rules**_

I waited, the longer strands of my bangs blowing into my eyes as the wind hit me at an angle as I stood outside of the building. The cold stone pressed up against my back was the only thing around me that I was aware of. There were several officers running around me, frantic but in a controlled way, shouting orders at one another. Even when one of them tapped my shoulder and asked if I was alright, my smile and consequent answer were done without thought. The officer's face as he turned and sprinted off quickly lost to me as I closed my eyes and pressed my head against the stone.

Why was I even here? I'd told Nakamori-keibu that I wasn't going to be at heists anymore. I had more important things to look into. Nightmare had only just died a month ago and I was still working with several officers to get the money for the man's son.

I shook my head. I was lying and it left a dissatisfying taste in my mouth. I was lying for the good of another, had been doing it for weeks now, but I would never get used to it. As far as I was concerned, I was as much a criminal as Kid. At least Kid gave back what he stole. I was helping swindle thousands out of the federal government.

Not only that, but I was less interested in catching the thief than ever. The last time I actively played a part in trying to stop him was when I had been trying to bait Kuroba into showing his true colors in front of Aoko, partly also because, for all her faults, Aoko was a nice girl and I found myself being inadvertently drawn to her when she entered a room. It was too early for me to call it love, but it was something.

Most of the officers around me vanished inside the building, leaving only three to guard the entrance which they did with matching looks of determination. I couldn't understand where they found their resolve. Sure, Kid was a thief and there were a lot of people wanting the phantom behind bars, but it wasn't like they were running into a fire to save someone's life. What was so great about catching a criminal who had more good come out of one night than a normal officer on a beat could. I had seen more than one crooked person placed behind bars thanks to the kaitou than most of the officers here, though of course, they had been given the credit.

"Hakuba-kun, you sure you don't want to go inside?" The officer on the end asked, eyeing me from where I was resting just feet away.

I thought about it for a moment. At least inside, I'd be able to watch the show. It didn't mean I had to participate, though I hoped there would be no more sleeping gas. Kid and the police had been known to throw it around like candy. True, in my own duel with Kid, I'd been the one that sanctioned it the first time, but the effects had left me with a headache for the next two days. Kid was faster too, so the odds weren't in my favor if the thief decided to turn the tables. As much as I knew about his weaknesses, the thief easily knew three times that amount of my own.

I pushed myself off the wall. Something had been bothering me for some time now, since my arrival. Something was off. Something I was sure Nakamori-keibu had felt as well when we had first arrived on location. It was almost as if we were being watched, and the person behind the eyes didn't feel friendly.

"Excuse me," I nodded to the officer who had spoken to me, and the man stepped back as I opened the door. The glass door was closed lightly behind me as I watched the officer take up his vigil once more.

I watched the officers inside, along with their Inspector, as they ran checks in the security and searched for any miscellaneous item laying around that could be one of Kid's little toys, disguised so that it was overlooked. One particular flaw an object near me caught my attention, but I let it be. That is, for a second or two.

Whether or not I cared to chase the Kid anymore, I was at the scene now and I couldn't let one of the thief's silly ploys remain unnoticed. I took the small speaker off of a vase. It was rather nicely hidden in the floral patter that wound its way around the porcelain, but amateurish at best. I pocketed the device before returning to my accommodations against the far wall where a thick set of curtains lay. I wasn't going to make it too easy for him. As much of a criminal as I considered myself now, and with as much good a the thief was carelessly participating in, I couldn't let him pass me that easily. It went against everything in my nature not to be helping with the setup. As much of a contradiction as that made me, I found it easier not to care as long as I did what I thought was right, and that was going to be my own version of the law for the time being until I found a better coping method for my own misdeeds.

Setup currently consisted of a ten foot gap between the display case and any living creature. I didn't know what Nakamori had done to the case, but for him to feel that comfortable leaving it so vulnerable had me coming up with a few ideas. Having his men back made it so that Kid couldn't sneak up on it. Not a new strategy, but being the the exhibition hall of a large corporation, Kid wouldn't be able to use smoke bombs with any lasting results. The few seconds it would take from the thief to cross the gap might be enough for Nakamori-keibu's men to have time to get to him. That was only with a lot of luck though. If Kid didn't want to be caught, he wouldn't. At least, not when I suspected he knew so much about Nakamori outside of this theatrical show to know what he was or could be planning.

The room was very quiet. It was the other reason I was here tonight. Kid's notices were often sent directly to the Inspector. The general public became aware of the heists because there was always an identical notice sent to them around the same time the police received theirs. A few times I'd seen the Inspector ready to rip someone's head off when he'd heard about in from the papers first and his officers second because they had dallied with the mail. It wasn't from lack of trying that Nakamori-keibu often had to wade through hoards of fans in order to attempt to protect the target that Kid was trying to steal. That was, when it was on exhibit like it was now. For things that were stollen during, say, a play or something else of the like that would be spoiled by the large crowds, the thief was kind enough to keep it out of the papers. It hadn't reached print of Kid's intent to steal a large, trilliant-cut diamond ring from the hall, though that was what should have happened for something like this. Kid loved the crowds and for him not to have notified his fans of what he was going to do... it left me worried. That, and I still felt a pair of eyes on my back, even though I was leaning against the wall. Nakamori-keibu and the task force were just as on edge, though they had less reasoning to base their suspicious in than I did.

Of course, I was the only one taking it seriously because of that. They were nervous because they thought Kid was up to some new way of evading them, and had something planned just for the police officers. Had I not had the foreboding feeling since my arrival, I might have been coined into believing that falsity.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pocket watch. Ten minutes. I placed it back gently and retrieved the speaker, playing with it between my fingers. I didn't know what Kid had planned to do with it. He'd never used speakers before. Maybe I was being paranoid and Kid really was just planning something more flamboyant maybe reindeer could really fly.

The waiting was as intolerable as ever. Ten minutes never carried the same weight for me as they did during heists. This time, the waiting was made all the worse because, as much as _waiting_ was taxing, I didn't want time to pass either. I didn't want whatever my subconscious felt to come into a reality.

I watched Kid arrive in a flash of white, staring helplessly at him while I tried to figure out how his had gotten past my visual perception with such ease. The officers around me were just as startled as they witnessed the thief's impossible appearance as well. As if defying gravity itself, I heard the soft click as one heel of his foot descended onto the display case, followed by a second, and his cape flowing in an invisible breeze until it settled around his form.

I didn't attempt to search for his entrance, nor the tricks he must have employed to archive those effects. Had I not thought something was already off, the aura that Kid was emanating around himself would have brought it to light. Not even the task force dared to move upon the thief's arrival. Something completely unheard of in any natural sequence of events.

When Nakamori-keibu did try to close in on the phantom, a gloved hand was placed into the air, palm forward in the universal symbol of 'stop'. To my surprise, Nakamori-keibu heeded the thief's silent order. Kid moved his raised hand to the brim of his hat, watching us all as we stood like servants before a lord. I wanted to say something, demand to know what the other officers were doing, because I had already told myself I wasn't going to catch the thief. Afraid that if I succeeded, a part of me would be unable to let him go, which is what had to be done. Kid was doing more good than not, but if I got him in my grasp, my conscience would render me unable to let him go. Any words I had been prepared to say were wiped away again when Kid's trademark smile came into play, a few edges closer to madness than I had ever seen it.

"Found you." Kid raised his card gun and the motionless officers were no longer so still. Several jumped the barrier, ignoring the order to stay out of it in favor of stopping the criminal before them. I ignored their actions, instead focusing on the card gun until my eyes came to rest on the individual in it's line of fire. I had been traveling back and forth from Japan and England so often that I had never gotten close to any of the officers under the Inspector, so it was no surprise that the man's face was new to me. At one time I'd played with the idea that knowing them better would help me catch Kid, but I'd given that up because, no matter how far I pressed, no one knew these men better than the one who they were pursuing, for safety's sake if anything. Putting on a face was easy, getting the character right was a lot harder, and this was one place that Kid would always outrank me in.

The phantom thief stood, aim still holding the officer in place. The others didn't seem to care if their actions led to the injury of one of their own. I was too confused to take action. Kid wouldn't hurt one of the officers, right? He'd never done so much as push one of them back. The thief standing there, his card gun steady with intent to harm in his eyes, couldn't be what it looked like.

My body moved without consulting with my brain. Kid was prepared sooner than I was, finger already putting pressure on the trigger so his actions couldn't be stop. I ran in front of the officer he was aiming at, the man taking a step back and scared out of his mind.

Those stupid cards of his aren't as harmless as they appear. Kid was drawing the weapon back when he realized that I was in the way, but it was too late to stop anything. The first one cut deep enough into my arm, right above my elbow on my left side, that I knew I'd be needed a trip to the hospital. The second one cut across the side of my head like a razor. I winced, fighting back the urge to crouch down, because then Kid would have full access to his target once again and I wasn't going to have that. Those cards had been aimed for vital points.

I stared up at him, seeing Kid's eyes return my surprise, reflecting my own anger and pain as well. That only made me more confused as the thief jumped out of the way of the still pursuing officers. That was no imitation either. That was Kid. Kid had just broke his own rule of not hurting any of those who went after him.

And I had to know why.

Nakamori-keibu and his men dutifully ignored what had been going on behind them as they chased after Kid. I glanced around. The thief wouldn't be stupid enough to stay in the middle off all those officers. He'd be escaping out of one of the exits while they all piled on one another with no one the wiser. There was only two choices of escape, and the first meant going through the officers still gauding the door, so I took off for the open passageway. I never studied the layout of the office building so I had no idea where I was heading, just that Kid would be heading that way too.

Following his namesake, the phantom seemed to come from behind one of the last officers charging the place he had previously been. I was only a few steps behind him and grinning before I remembered that this wasn't like the other times I had chased him down, as few as they were. This time I felt more of an affinity towards Kid than the officers I followed, because both he and I were breaking the law for the good of others. It almost felt like a betrayal when I realized he was turning to violence. That emotional pain was fleeting. I'd been betrayed before. I'd been look down upon my whole life because of anything from my age, to my heritage, to the way I dressed and spoke. This was nothing new.

Something hard hit me from behind, making me stumble a few steps forward towards Kid that should have been longer and faster strides. There was a flash of pain and I felt my breathing speed up, what with the air having been knocked from me because of whatever had hit me. The pain soon faded and I was ready to take up the chase again. The only problem was that my legs wouldn't seem to move. I went to take a step forward with my right one and barely had it up in air before I had to return it to the ground, an inch or so off of where it had been before.

I turned, wondering if one of the officers had run into me or something when they noticed me following the thief. I'd made myself pretty obvious about it. They were there, several of them stopped in mid pace, the Inspector out in front. And none of them close enough to have touched me. I was sure I was frowning at them, but my brain wasn't telling me much more than the sight before me didn't make sense. If they were that far away, how could they have hit me?

Finding the same shell-shocked look on Nakamori-keibu's face left me more baffled. Having to turn my head to look at them was making me dizzy. I must have been hit hard, but that still didn't seem possible. Turning to face forward so that the world would stop spinning, I was even more shocked to find the thief so close to me. Kid was less than ten feet away and as frozen in place as the officers. The only difference was that I couldn't see more than the fact that the thief was no longer smiling.

Something was very wrong, but I couldn't find the pieces to fit together. I swallowed, finding it difficult. Now that I didn't have the mysterious expressions to focus on, seeing as I couldn't read Kid's, I noticed I was breathing rather funny.

That, at the dizziness that had yet to fade made me feel really tired. I blinked my eyes several times, seeing less of the room each time I opened them. Had I been hit with sleeping gas after all? But then, I should have fallen asleep right away. How was I still standing?

"Hakuba-san..."

Kid was speaking to me. I shook my head, only for the world to blur and the thief to meld into the blobby mess my vision had become. I opened my mouth to speak, but only air escaped. Yes, something was very wrong. That didn't matter though. Nothing did. I was too tired as whatever drug was being used on me quickly made it so I could no longer stay on my feet.

I must not have hit the ground, because I was conscious enough to know that my head was higher than the rest of my body. Whatever my face had fell against was soft and there was something under my arm that made the pain from earlier come back. I opened my mouth again to protest the position, pushing away with my arm only to fall back onto my side when the defiance I was putting up only made the pain worse.

"Why did you do that?" The loud voice in my ear was piercing, almost enough to distract me from the pain, as it seemed to be numbing itself again now that I wasn't moving. I opened my eyes to find Kid, or more accurately, the thief's chest in front of me as the thief laid me on the ground. Once there, I almost let sleep overtake me, staying awake only because I felt a hand on my shoulder shake me roughly so that more spikes of pain ran through my body.

"Don't fall asleep, Hakuba-san. You're injured pretty badly."

Injured? Yes, I knew that, but how had it happened?

I was still watching the figure at my side as the thief drew up one knee and looked ready to bolt off. My line of reasoning quickly disappeared as the pain became unbearable again when something pushed onto my back and I choked out a cry.

"Sorry, Hakuba-kun. I have to."

I'd never heard that voice speak so quietly before. I was sure it was the Inspector, but I never thought I'd hear his words sound so soft. Opening my eyes against the pain, I could still see the thief before me. Kid had never ventured this close to me before and not tried to have escaped. I knew I lacked the ability to, but I going to try and ask why when another voice broke through my hazy thoughts.

"You know I still have him in my sights! I said hand it over!"

This person now, I knew I'd never been acquainted with. The tones were husky and deep, near Nakamori's baritone but different, more careless on the inflections.

Being on the ground, I was getting a better look at Kid than the rest of the room. The thief was preoccupied glaring at something in the direction of my feet, so I was able to get an unmasked view of him. Had my breath not escaped me long ago, it would have at that moment. Kid looked- almost afraid. It didn't show in the expression, set in neutral displeasure, but in deep blue eyes that I, for once, wasn't sure were Kuroba's. They were much older and glowed with pain and fear that the kaitou's face wouldn't let him show. I knew there was something going on, that the heists were put on for a reason. Maybe when the pain stopped and I had time to figure things out, I'd find that reason.

Kid stood in a graceful motion, and before I understood what I was doing, the arm currently able to do so grabbed the hem of Kid's pants before he could retreat. I had trouble looking up so I settled on letting my head rest against the floor and pray my subconscious knew what it was doing.

Gloved fingers brushed over the top of my hand, Kid coming to rest one knee on the floor so that he would be able to pry himself free. I didn't know why, but I refused to let go. Letting Kid go would be bad. I didn't know where the thought had come from, but it wouldn't leave and, considering that Nakamori-keibu was in arm's reach of the thief, I decided to forget about the 'why's. One of us had to be professional.

"Hakuba-san, let go." The words were cold. Just as I'd never heard Nakamori speak so softly, I'd never heard Kid's tone so harsh it felt as if the words could tear skin from bone. I knew my hand was shaking as I shook my head. Something bad was happening and I couldn't figure out what it was, but I wanted it to stop. Kid could stop it. When I tried to get a breath to speak the words, a cough tore through me instead, making the pain worse and bringing with it a bad taste in my mouth.

Kid's hand went slack against mine, giving up on setting it's host free. Kid instead leaned forward to whisper in my ear. I shivered against the light breath hitting me as I tried to make sense of the words. _Please, Hakuba-kun, I need you to trust me._

I reluctantly let go, feeling the material slide free when I dearly wanted to hold on. Kid had never addressed me in such a way. It was the kaitou's way of getting across the message that he either was Kuroba, and addressed me as my classmate would, or was using the term as a way of fooling me because Kid was aware of my suspicions.

I couldn't see whoever it was that the thief was facing down, but the other officers did nothing to intervene, and my guesses at what was going on while I was only semi-conscious turned into facts that I wasn't too happy with.

"And what does the promise of a killer mean to me? I'm not the one holding the gun and I really doing think that we have the same chances at a fair trade. Try again."

"Fine. We leave the cops so that I don't get shot the minute I get my prize, and we're good. See here though, the problem I see with that is that you can flit off the minute I don't have any leverage against you. He's coming with us."

I saw Kid's eyes harden and it took me a second to realize why. Great, now I was going to be leverage.

"He can't even stand up."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've got him." There were footsteps and Kid tensed noticeably. I heard Nakamori-keibu from behind me, where his hand was still resting on my back, let out a husky breath that was almost a growl.

"You're not touching the boy."

I would have sighed if the situation were any different. I hated being looking down upon and 'boy' was a very degrading word. But Nakamori's defiance against any actions taken against me was endearing. He'd never stood up to be before. We were usually pitted against one another as much as I was against Kid.

"Move."

I could barely see a figure near me. Kid's gloved hand clenched in a fist but he back off.

"You too."

"No." Nakamori-keibu's voice held no room for argument. "I said you aren't touching him. You can take me instead."

"Tempting, but you see the problem is, I'd want to kill you then. You cops make me sick. Too afraid to take chances if it means risking something, whether that something be good grace in the public eye or life, your's or someone else's. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll kill you if you make me. Really, I'm just one of many, so if I have to kill you and get caught in the process, it won't matter. Sure I may get caught after this is over too, but someone will take my place until none of you cops are around anymore."

Kid was the one who moved. He did so slowly until I wasn't able to see him anymore and I felt his presence somewhere behind me, where the Inspector was kneeling. I heard no words spoken for a minute or two before Nakamori-keibu cursed, and I felt his hand come up off my back. I was able to turn enough to watch them after that, just as the Inspector got up and shoved Kid away from him as roughly as he could. The thief actually stumbled, but he didn't fall. There was a smear of red on Kid's coat and I thought for a moment that he'd been hurt before I realized that it was my blood. I could feel the ground cold around me. I must be bleeding quite badly.

A hand latched onto my arm before I was aware that there was a new presence beside me. They yanked me up off the ground hard enough for my vision to cut off. Whatever noise of pain I made was lost to my own ears that decided now as a good time to stuff themselves with cotton.

By the time I got my senses back, I was no longer in a building. There were a lot of trees. That was about all I was able to focus on before my bleary perception reminded me about what had just happened. Kid was strolling in front of me as if he hadn't a care in the world. It was late, but his costume was hard to miss. I would have liked to think it was all a dream but the firm arms around my shoulder and legs made that very hard.

"Good, you're up. You can walk on you're own now, can't you?"

The hand by my leg dropped down and my feet braced to catch me on instinct. If it weren't for the man's arms still under one of my arms and holding me close to him, I would have fallen. Kid stopped in his tracks to watch this, eyes glittering with something akin to fear once again. My own eyes shot up to met his. He was scared. Not just about this whole life or death situation of mine that the two of them were playing with like a game, but just scared. The thief had never been in a situation like this and he didn't know what to do, how far the boundaries lie. Kid was scared not only of the prospect of someone dying, but he was scared of himself, of the man, of me, and what had to be done to correct the situation was slipping past him.

I would have laughed at his juvenility if I could have. Yeah, maybe it was Kuroba after all. He was the kind of idiot to throw himself into danger and not think about the consequences.

The next thing I did was turn to the man holding me up. It was what you did when you were a detective. Worry about yourself later and scan the area for clues that could be later used against the perpetrator that you're after. The best thing to have when doing so is the man's face. I tried subtly to look up at him, still facing Kid so that I wouldn't garner too much attention. Having Kid see his face was one thing, the thief could hardly testify on behalf of the police, having me see his face was another and I didn't feel like making the rest of the trip to wherever I was being led off to, unconscious.

I was nearly speechless when I saw who it was.

"You're..."

"Yeah. Thanks for the help back there. Couldn't have gotten this far without you."

The man beside me was the police officer with the terrified expression that Kid had fired on in the hall.

What an idiot I was. Kid had been trying to stop all of this. He knew the officer was planning something, though I don't know how or why. If those cards had hit, he would have been down for the count. A trip to the hospital was a small price to pay for a life. But I'd gotten in the way because I thought it was the right thing to do. Well, it seemed my own version of right left nothing but misery for myself and those around me. The stupid thief had better results than I could accomplish and he was wanted by several countries.

I must not have been masking my thoughts very well because the man who had been, and still was, ready to take my life, grinned at me as if he'd just come out of the theater after seeing his favorite movie. I quickly drew in my expression but that only made him smile more at my pathetic attempt at abstaining from showing him anything. It felt cowardly but there was nothing much more I could accomplish on my own when I had to be held to stand up right and every breath I took felt like someone was harpooning me.

Now that I was conscious, Kid seem to take it as he cue to draw in closer to us. I'd never seen the thief place himself so close to someone's clutches while he was unmasked before. It made my aggressor nervous and I felt something pressed against my side by the hand that wasn't being used to hold me up.

"Don't try anything funny."

Kid's eyes glowed in the darkness much like I believe a demon's would, if the creatures were to take on a reality. The fear turned to something angry, possessive, almost feral that I'd never seen in the eyes of someone so cloaked in the ideals of childhood.

The gun was pressed harder into my side and I felt a ring of adrenaline run through my body. As much as Kid wasn't ready for this, I couldn't say I was prepared either. I'd always had the police around me for backup. I'd never imagined being kidnapped and held hostage as ransome for something someone seemed to want from the Kid.

Which brought up a ton more question that I didn't dare ask the answers to.

I started to feel myself nod off, not that I could understand why I was falling asleep during such a desperate situation anymore than I could control it. The man jerked me forward, sending a wave a pain through my body that woke me up enough to keep going. I hated the fact that the night was absolutely dead around us and there wasn't so much as a squirrel to what what was transpiring. With any luck, Nakamori-keibu would have found so way to tail us.

I barely registered the scenery as we passed along like silent shadows in the empty night. Kid had not left his new proximity any more than the man had removed the gun, so I had no choice but to follow the both of them. We finally arrived at a large building where the man's steps led towards the back, Kid in the front and catching onto the change in direction almost instantly.

There was a person leaning against the back wall, shadowed by the building so deeply that I couldn't make out more than the fact that there was someone there. By the movements of the darkness, I could tell they were a good deal taller than I was, but that was it.

Kid apparently didn't have that same problems that impeded my judgment. The thief outrightly snarled at the man that I couldn't make out, hands tightening into fists and dropping any semblance to the detached character that he had created for himself. In the darkness, a flash of light caught off of a small handgun. Now I was truly worried. Kid and I _may_ have been able to get away from the man who currently held me in his possession. The gun made that difficult, but not impossible. Having two aggressors now, that was no longer fathomable. I watched Kid's eyes dart between them, absent of the same fear that I knew I couldn't hope to veil.

"To think, all it took to get you to me was to point a gun at someone. I should have tried it sooner." I watched at the shadowed man stepped forwards, his dark clothing and my blurry vision not making for a much better sight. He was facing Kid, but he raised his gun and pointed it at me. "Now, what to do with you now that I have you..."

My shoulders sagged and I felt the pressure on the bullet wound I had gotten earlier. That's what it was. After I felt the man's gun pressed up against my side, I had no doubt about it. I must have been in a sorry state for it to have taken so long for me to figure it out. Strange that it wasn't hurting much now. Kid wouldn't keep this up. If it came down to his life or mine, it wouldn't be much of a choice at all. Not that I hadn't known Kid sacrifice himself for another before, but his intelligence wouldn't let him do the same for me. Even if he agreed to do what they say in exchange for my safety, I had already seen their face and they were professionals. Once Kid was gone, their word wouldn't stop them from murdering me. I had the short end of the stick and I felt myself start to shake slightly at the notion. No matter how this turned out, I wasn't going to be walking away from it.

And, to add to the misery that I seem to start every time I try to do anything right, I let all my thoughts show on my face, seeing at the last second that Kid had been watching me instead of them. The thief's eyes were light, apologetic. And the worst part was that, whoever Kid was, he had nothing to be sorry for.

"What do you want?"

Kid addressed the man for a moment before turning back to watch me. I wished he wouldn't. I was hurt, scared. It wasn't the best time for me to try and hide my sentiments from him, even though I knew I must. I had to be the only casualty here. It would be stupid for us both to die and the stupid thief was doing more good than I was anyway.

"I've been thinking on that. It's clear you won't work for us. I could just keep getting more and more people involved in this until you give up or agree to. But that won't make me happy. You've been a pain in my side for years now, and I'm not letting you go a second time." The large man paused to think about it for a second. "You know, I can only see you dieing today. If we can't use you, you'll only be in our way."

Kid interrupted him before he could continue, voicing the same concerns that I had. "And what's to stop you from murdering the detective once I allow you to have your way?"

"Absolutely nothing. Walk away now then and let him die alone. I don't really care."

Kid twitched. I was amazed that the man had freely admitted to what we both knew he would do. At least feeding Kid false assurances could have him agreeing faster.

At that point, some part of me that was still methodically thinking instead of near-panicking, saw an opening that had a better chance of working than waiting for these men to kill us. The policeman holding me was focused on Kid, just as the man who seemed to be his boss was. Both their guns were pointed at me, but with neither actually facing me, it made it easier for me to move.

Because I had no better option, and the longer I waited, the more scared I would be and the higher the chance that their attention would shift, I acted.

I didn't have much strength, and knew it. Being shot leaves you very weak, and this was the first time I had to deal with a bullet that did anymore than scratch the surface of my skin, so I don't have any pain tolerance. What strength I did have, I used to latch onto the barrel of the gun at my side so that it would fire into the wall of the building past me. The man must have has his finger on the trigger because it barked once at my sudden jolt, barely missing my skin before I heard it ricochet off the wall.

Kid acted as the boss turned his head to see what had happened. The thief knocked his wrist so the gun went flying off to the side, skidding across the asphalt to rest near the doorway of another building. I saw the problem with both our strategies, and we both were left with the consequences. I had no energy to do more than face the gun away. I was lucky enough that the man still dressed as a policeman was too shocked that his weapon was no longer in his control, and able to tear it away before throwing it somewhere behind me. I had no energy to actually fight him. When he realized what had happened, he tried to charge passed me to get the gun and I had to hold him off. It was difficult, and painful, but when your life is riding on the outcome, you realize you can do amazing things.

Kid wasn't so lucky. Once the gun was knocked away, Kid was left vulnerable and the man took advantage of that. Being twice the thief's size, when he raised his arm that had been holding the gun and shoved it as hard as he could into the back of Kid's neck, he went down.

I could scarcely hear the man's words as he spoke to the fallen thief.

"You know what I call bleeding-hearted fools like you?" I could hear the sneer in his voice, even as my own hard breathing tried to drown out all other noises. "Dead."

"And do you know what I call people who underestimate the strength that others can possess when protecting someone..."

Kid never finished his sentiments, and though his vocal argument was no where near as threatening, nor said in the same deep, intimidating voice, it left a far more dire impression.

I couldn't see what transpired. They must have been fighting one another, but I was too preoccupied holding the man where I had him to focus on anything else. I heard Kid make some sort of pained noise at one point, but the rest of their brawl was done without much noise and with even fewer words. Kid must have gotten the upper hand at some point, because I saw a flash of white a few minutes later, and the policeman I'd been holding off fell to the floor.

"Hakuba-san, are you alright?" Kid was panting, face a similar white to his outfit, if not for a dark mark under one of his eyes where he must have been hit. I started at him, swaying where I was and trying to figure out what to do next._ Was I alright_? I certainly didn't feel alright. And he was there when I'd been shot. What kind of idiotic question was that?

I tried to answer him, only to taste blood in my mouth and watch the buildings steadily turn a morbid grey in my vision. Kid remained his untouchable white that even my withdrawing vision couldn't warp. Before I fell, I felt the same pair of arms around me that I had this evening. Kid caught me a second time before I could injure myself.

Not that it meant much to me at that moment. I was too hurt and confused and still had the spikes of adrenalin running through my body at random intervals, telling me I was still in danger.

"I'm sorry, Tantai-san."

I laughed, or tired to. It came out as a breath of air and a smile. I hated be apologized to by this idiot.


	2. To Be a Thief

Sorry this isn't one of my more dramatic stories, but it always bothered me after that last book that Hakuba  
>pretty much was left with no choice but to lie to the police for Kenta's sake...<p>

I promise the next one will be more exciting ^_^;

**THIS IS THE END THOUGH.** I know I don't cover everything... again, sorry

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Two: To Be a Thief<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>...<strong>_

_**...**_

_Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. ~Chinese Proverb_

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_**...**_

I woke up to the steady swish of an overhead fan. There wasn't much light in the room I was in, only whatever illumination managed to creep under the door frame. I was in a bed, which was a surprise to me. I expected to wake in a hospital, not a room that felt more like home than any hotel could have achieved.

I removed the blanket that was on top on me and tried to get up before thinking better of it and bracing my teeth against any sound. Besides the pain, I was hungry. I hadn't eaten anything beside an apple I'd picked up on the way to the heist. Breakfast had been overtaken by a lengthy phone call to my mother and I'd missed lunch due to my own studies that I'd had to dive into now that I was back in Japan for a while. I'd been neglecting the work for a while, but it was necessary if I wanted to continue my career as a detective. No one wanted to hire someone who didn't even have a high school education. I'd work on college when I had to take on that obstacle.

So I was somewhere I didn't recognize, I was hurt, I was hungry, and the last thing I remembered was my desperation. But I was not helpless. Against the pain, I got to my feet after a string of curses that I would not let pass my lips. A noise in the other room seized my attention enough for me to forget, temporarily, about my worries in favor of soothing my curiosity.

"That hurt!"

"Stop complaining, Young Master. You know it could have been much worse."

There weren't any words that followed. It didn't sound like Kuroba, not quite, but that may have been the closed door. The voice definitely was not Kid's. The older one I'd never heard before, but I'd had a guess long ago that Kid had an accomplice of some sort. I never imagined it was some so on in years that they sounded like my grandfather.

I approached the door as silently as I could on tired legs. I still felt drowsy, but I wasn't going to let it take control of me and risk missing whatever it was that was taking place around me. I couldn't possibly be anywhere but somewhere that Kid had brought me. One of the voices on the other side of the door had to be the thief. I had no need to prove it, but I wanted to know.

The handle was impossible to move without creating some type of noise so I went about it as slowly as possible. My hand wanted to shake but I didn't allow it. Each millimeter of movement I was afraid would give my presence away. When I finally had it, I moved the door so it was scarcely open enough for me to peak through, releasing the knob as slowly as I had opened it. It took practice to be this quiet and I'd learned long ago how to accomplish it. When you were a detective, there were places it was better to get into without people noticing.

The narrow crevice of light that bombarded its way into the room I was occupying cut through the darkness and blinded me. I was able to take in my surrounds now, but it seemed an unimportant task. I was more focused on the sight before me.

Kid was on the ground of a room that was created for guests, not living. There was no bed and the only place to rest was a sofa that was pushed against the far wall that I could only see the corner of, and a chair in the adjacent corner, right in my line of vision. Kid was closer to the couch and I was only able to see him from the waist up. There was an old man kneeling over him, placing a cold pack on the thief's back. I watched Kid wince at the contact.

"You're going to be sore for a while. You'd better think up some excuse for it."

"I don't care."

"Young Master." The older man sighed and stared down at Kid as if he were his misbehaving son. '_Young master_' was such a lenient term of address coming from someone the older man's age that all I could say for certain was that Kid was somewhere under the age of thirty.

"You know what could have happened today?" Kid ignored the man's hand and stood up, hints of tension around his eyes. "If Hakuba-kun hadn't acted, I don't know what I would have done. There was... This-" Kid cut himself off with a shake of the head. "What am I supposed to do if they try it again? Hakuba-kun's not going to give up. If I didn't think they wouldn't go looking for him right now at the hospitals to try it again, I wouldn't have brought him here. I can't-"

"I know, Young Master, I know. You have to calm down though. Right now the both of you are hurt and working yourself up over it before you're better won't do anyone any good."

Kid turned towards the older man and I caught a glance of his face that I'd seen earlier. The dark mark under his eye had grown, just an inch down from giving him a black eye. Thinking back on it, that man in the shadows hadn't been a lightweight, and Kid was by no means a large person. I had to think that it was a difficult fight to win.

"Not thinking on it will only get people killed." Kid was visibly upset to a point I'd never witness before. His eyes were dead set, his fists shaking when he clenched them them too hard every few seconds. I'd mostly likely never seen him like this before because Kid didn't know he was being observed, and this older man seemed like someone that he trusted. I couldn't make out the second occupant very well myself, only catching a glimpse of white hair and dark glasses before he retreated out of sight.

"I don't know what to tell you, Young Master. You'll just have to be more careful from now on. Maybe it would be best to warn the police of the potential danger that boy could be placed in, then they can take care of their own."

"I know. I wish it were that easy, but-"

"But you'd get involved anyway because they'll always be someone after you and someone that they can point a gun at. I know, Young Master, but for now, there's nothing we can do about it."

"I can stop."

I swallowed as quietly as I could. If Kid stopped, if I didn't have to chase him anymore... What would happen? I might not have those same reasons to keep going that I had now. Kid was doing good for most, if not all the people who crossed paths with him. I was doing the same. We were both using less than legal means to produce our results. If Kid backed out now and I was left with only those in jail cells to compare myself too... I don't think I'll be able to do it anymore. Kenta, and all the work that I'd already put into his case, would be lost. But maybe that was for the best. Maybe neither of us were meant to do things this way. Kid wasn't a bad person, though I'd only come to let myself acknowledge that fact recently. This stealing had to be be taking its toll on him just as much as lying to all the lawyers I had to face, as well as acquaintances I'd come to know through my short time in Japan, was marking me.

"And if you give up, what then? They win and innocent people will still die. At least with Kid, they have a chance, Young Master."

"But then it's my fault when I don't fulfill that role! When I mess up, it's not longer because of _them_, it's because of me. I'm the one who lets those people die then. Jii-chan, I can't do that. I can't-"

"Take the risk of losing? Kid is what he is, and you're him. You don't have to protect everyone. You didn't have to start publicly looking for your targets like you have, like your father had. You could have done things differently, remained in the shadows until you found it and then gotten your revenge on them. But you didn't, Young Master. You made yourself public so those in their way would be brought into the light with you, where Snake and his men fear to tread. I don't mean to encourage this behavior, but I want you to know what you'd be giving up."

I had to remind myself to breath. Okay, there was new information that I was filing away on Kid now. He had a father, and his father had been Kid previous to this new person taking over the role. That was understandable. Kid couldn't possibly be as old as Nakamori-keibu and run around with the dexterity that he had. That still put Kid as anyone in the age category that I determined earlier. The hair at the crime scene that I had found that put him between fifteen and seventeen had the possibility of not being his. But if it was, there wasn't a long list of people that Kid could be. I'd have to look into Kuroba's father when I left.

That thought shocked me as much as Kid's bitter expression when he turned away from the man. I'd presumed that Kid would just release me. I was somewhere that could be traced back to him right now, so my distaste of sleeping gas came back to me. That was nothing compared to what had almost happened tonight though, if it was still tonight. I'd almost been killed. Kid had almost been killed. Until I knew for certain what was going on and why there were killers walking the streets, as free as a bird, I wasn't going to give up on this. If Kid disappeared, these men were the type to go underground where the police couldn't find them.

"Either way I lose." The thief dropped to the floor in a sitting position, one gloved hand clutching at nothing in air. "What am I supposed to do? What would I have done? If Hakuba-kun hadn't saved himself, I would have been..." The kaitou moved his relaxed hand to grab at his chest. "I couldn't run away then, I guess I can't run away now. If that idiot detective gets himself killed because this though..."

"Your father had been their only target before. I didn't think this kind of thing would happened. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Jii-chan. You didn't do anything wrong."

"And neither did you."

Kid practically flew across the room at my words. He tired to get to his feet, tripped, fell back as far as he could and looked at me as if I'd just shot him. The older man had a similar look of terror and had backed up, but my main focus was Kid. I stared down at him on the floor, while his eyes did a quick check of the best escape routes. I wouldn't be able to stop him if he ran. I was hardly in any condition to do more than I currently was.

"How long-"

"Long enough," I answered him truthfully. That stuck it. I didn't need any declarations or removing of articles to tell who it was before me. Kuroba tensed up at my expression. His voice had given it away even before I opened the door, but that wasn't evidence. It wasn't as if I recorded him. There are people out there who sound alike as well. The real reason I was sure it was him was the way he was glaring at me. Only Kuroba could put such hatred and a simultaneous degree of comradery that completely contradicted one another into a look.

Neither of us said anything to each other because neither of us had the words in which to express what we had to say. That, and neither of us knew what we were supposed to say to begin with.

"Damn it." Kuroba broke the silence, closing his eyes. "You were supposed to be sleeping."

"There are a lot of things that I'm supposed to be that I'm not. I believe I can say the same about you." I didn't know how this was going to work, how I wanted it to work. I wished that things would just go back to the way they were before, when I wasn't forced to lie. Now the situation had all the implications that I'd also be keeping one of the world's greatest secrets. It was all very stressful. After thinking it, the pain that followed was less physical. What a selfish wish.

Kid couldn't possibly be doing what he was without reasons that were too painful to think about. I may not know Kuroba personally, but Kid cared too much for this all to be for fun. Looking down at Kuroba and what he must have gone through to be where he was now, I was sure he had the same wish that I did. That things would just go back to the way they were.

If only life were so simple.

"Tell me what happened."

Kuroba raised his eyebrows up at me, eyes glittering with the same innocence that I had seen earlier. It wasn't all a lie after all. Kid, for all his tomfoolery, actually held onto the innocence he danced around with. Tonight must have affected the thief as much as it affected me, maybe even more. "Tell you what?"

"Tell me what happened. Why someone just shot me and dragged me off so that they were able to kill you. Tell me why you didn't leave when they gave you the chance. The guns were pointed at me, not you, and I know how fast you can be when you want to."

Instead of answering me, Kuroba took off the top hat and monocle so that we would be able to face each other properly. He asked a question of his own. "Would you have been able to walk away if it were me that they had?"

I was the one left without an answer. Kuroba had one, even though he didn't answer it in the conventional way. I watched him as he looked down and scratched his head where it must have itched because of the top hat, making him look like a puppy. He came up with a smile, only cementing the image. The problem was the way he smiled was unlike Kid's or his own. It was strained and worried. It wasn't that I couldn't answer. I was afraid of my own words. And by the glare in his eyes when he opened them, he could sense my fears, though I doubt he understood them.

"Of course I couldn't have just left, because there's a difference between the two of us. If the world lost me, it would be sad, if the world lost you, it would be a tragedy. Kuroba-kun, I don't think you understand your own importance. I'm not bolting out of here in search of the police because I do. You're not Batman, but you're close enough to it that I wouldn't jeopardize your well being."

"And I can say the same about you, Hakuba-kun."

I frowned, looking down at him due to the sincerity in his words.

Kuroba let out a breath, somewhere between annoyed and authentically tired. "I mean, I can only do so much as Kid. The rest is really up to the police. I'm like the dog that points at the bad guys and you go chase them down. I don't think what I do is as impressive as what you do, if you don't include the thieving. That," Kuroba snapped his fingers and produced the white diamond from the case that he hadn't done more than land on, "I don't think you can top."

"Anyone can follow a map."

"And anyone can magnetize a needle if they know how it works." Kuroba started laughing out of now where. "You know, why are we trying to make fun of one another? I mean, we both do what we have to. You don't... mind letting me go?"

"I never caught you. I can't let you go of someone I never had. It's my job to help bring peace to those you need it, not take it away. But please, I really need to know what you've been doing. I've tried figuring it out and I can't. I never thought it was this dangerous, but isn't it better that I know?"

"No," the older man spoke up right away. "The more you know, the more danger you'll be in."

Kuroba didn't say anything though. He just looked at me. I couldn't tell whether he was weighing his trust in me or thinking on a more personal level, but I waited for his answer. As classmates, I knew as much about him as I did any of the others around me. Kid I knew, and I knew him well. Kuroba was a mystery and they had to be different enough people that he could fool those close to him. Kid then, was the fake, and I was putting my faith in hope that Kuroba was at least the same type of person on the inside that Kid was on the out.

"Jii-chan's right. It will put you in danger. But you're already in as much danger as you can be, now that they know that they can use you against me. It's better to take the known route than place your hopes somewhere else. Chance are they'll come after you again."

I shivered. I couldn't stop that. I may be afraid, but that was something that I couldn't control. I could control what I did about it and I wasn't going to let Kuroba fight these people on his own. Call it revenge if you must. I wasn't to sure myself why I wanted in so badly, but I did. As long am I was happy with the person I am tomorrow, then I didn't cared much anymore about the things I have to do to get there. Being a good person and following the law should have been the same thing, but Kuroba found a loophole and, if he was willing to go down that path, then so was I.

Cowardly. Yes, I knew that about myself. While Kuroba was willing to keep going, what did it matter? For now, he knew more about the situation than I did, and for all my flaunting, I needed someone else to be there. I wasn't strong enough to stand on my own. Maybe, if these people ever succeeded in killing him, I'd worry about my own faults.

"I'm ready to take them on."

Kuroba laughed again, this time looking me over without mentally judging me. "I don't think I want you taking them on just yet. You know, it took Jii-chan over an hour to get that bullet out of you. It didn't do a lot of damage, but enough that I'm sure running, heck, walking is going to be hard on you for a while."

As long as Kuroba was admitting to knowing about how much pain I was in, I let myself sit on the floor in front of him so I could at least get off my feet. "Yeah. Maybe your right. That doesn't change my answer."

"Didn't think it would." Kuroba yawned. "Can it wait until morning?"

"No." I wasn't going to be swayed on this either. If Kuroba was willing to talk now, that didn't mean he'd be willing to talk later. For all I knew, he would wait until I fell asleep, get me to my house, and try to convince me that this was all a dream.

"I didn't think you'd change your mind on that either." Kuroba sprawled out, Kid's white costume enveloping him as his arms came to rest above his head and his eyes closed. Whoever that man was, he hit Kuroba hard. That mark on his face would take a miracle to hide and an even greater miracle to explain. I had to guess that the suit was hiding similar bruises.

"Are you alright?"

Kuroba opened one of his eyes, the one without the injury, and stared at me strangely. "I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've been up against them. You're the one I'm worried about. Don't go asking me questions like that when I'm sure it's worse for you."

"You make it sound like you were the one responsible for my injuries."

Kids eyes tinged with fury as he propped himself up on an elbow and stared hard at my arm, followed up by glancing somewhere above my eye. I looked down and felt the bandage that was under my shirt. I had completely forgotten about those stupid cards that had hit me. It wasn't like they were anything compared to the bullet, and Kuroba hadn't been aiming at me.

"That was my fault. I didn't understand what was going on. Telling me now may prevent it from happening again in the future, or you could let things be as they are and we get a repeat of tonight."

Kuroba flinched before going back and laying down less comfortably than he had previously. "And if I had told you before now, you may have run after the officer yourself and gotten shot before he could even take you hostage."

There was a loud banging at the door and all three of us jumped. I winced, trying to force my eyes open against the sudden pain. The bullet may be gone, but the damage was still there. I moved my eyes to Kuroba as he got up stiffly and pressed his body to the side of the wall where thick curtains were draped over the window.

"Jii-chan, any chance you were expecting someone tonight?"

"No, Young Master. Were you followed?"

"Tsh. It wouldn't have been hard. I had to carry Hakuba-kun here and I couldn't stop the bleeding. I didn't think I'd left enough of a trail to follow."

There was an electronic whirring that ran through the room, buzzing inside my ears. Kuroba perked up at the noise, interested but not worried. It took him a minute to realize that the noise was coming from a cell phone on the table next to him. I was tempted to pick it up but Kuroba got to it before I could and flipped it open.

"Ah," Kuroba sighed. "Don't worry, it's just Mom. I guess I must have scared her again."

"You didn't call her to tell you you'd be home late?"

"Nope. I think it's safe to say I had other things on my mind." Kuroba snapped the phone closed and went to answer the door. I waited for my own heart to slow down, hearing Kuroba mutter '_she could have texted me FIRST_', under his breath as he unlocked several bolts.

I couldn't see into the main room very well because you had to go traverse a desk, and even then the door was off to the left. I moved forward a few feet so that I could attempt to view what was happening. I got there just as Kuroba managed to unlock the door in the darken light that was spilling in from the room we were in. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair was standing in the door way but I couldn't get a good look at her. In the next moment she lunged in and wrapped her arms so tight around Kuroba that it looked like she was trying to crush him.

"Ow! Mom, let go! That hurts!"

"Serves you right for not calling me! Honestly Kaito, ever since last month, when I didn't see you until you came home from school the next day... You promised me that you would call if you were going to be out late. The heist has been over for nearly four hours and I hear all this talk about kidnappings and how the police aren't giving out information! What was I supposed to think!"

My heart lurched. No one knew I was safe. I couldn't imagine the task force would be doing nothing to find me.

One of Kuroba's arms reached out from where he was engulfed in his mother still, as he tried to catch my eye. "Don't worry, Hakuba-kun. I already talked to Nakamori-ojisan. He knows your safe, but I told him I couldn't take you to a hospital. I'm gonna talk with him tomorrow at some point so that I can warn him about what Sna... about what they might do to try to get me again." And then Kuroba was lost in his mother again as she assumed for herself what had happened. I noticed a suspicious lack of white in Kuroba's clothes while this happened. At some point during transit, Kuroba had changed into a normal outfit, though I couldn't see much of his attire to know more than it wasn't Kid's while his mother was embracing him

"How many...?" I stopped, about to ask him how many people knew of his identity as Kid, since this older man and his mother both knew. I couldn't have been the only one who suspected something was up either. Now wasn't the time to bother him. As much as it looked like Kuroba was putting up a fight, he was the type of person who could escape from anything. Whether it was to sooth his mother's fear or his own, I didn't know, but I let them be.

Before they pulled away from each other, I joined the older man in the other room. Now that I had the opportunity in which to observe him, he was indeed a person close to the age of my grandfather. He looked about as tired as I felt, though his eyes were still viewing me as a wild predator that had walked into his home while he was vulnerable. I couldn't blame him. Honestly, so much was happening at the moment that I couldn't be sure of what I was doing, or going to do.

Heists weren't supposed to be like this. Kid wasn't supposed to be a target of anyone other than the police. There weren't supposed to be guns, ever, on either side.

To save the poor man some peace of mind, I didn't met his eye nor stare at him any longer than it took me to notice his discomfort with me. I was still very tired, and as rattled as I was, putting Kuroba's words together meant that this person was the one who had helped me, maybe even became someone I owed my life too. I had acknowledged that I wouldn't be running to the police, and I wasn't going to go back on my word, but that didn't mean I wanted to embrace Kuroba's own brand of anarchy.

I couldn't stifle a yawn. Even with the current conditions of the situation, I didn't know where I stood. There was a mutual agreement that neither of us would say anything of this night. That I could understand. Everything else crawled out of my metal capacity to comprehend. It could have been the blood loss and consequent lack of sleep. I yawned again, running a hand through the parts of my hair that weren't currently tied down by wrappings.

"Go back to sleep. There's nothing we can do right now until morning comes."

I smiled, remembering not to reach his eyes when I looked up. "I guess you're right. I do want to thank you for your help."

"Anyone would have done the same."

I couldn't tell if I was smiling or not any longer. I highly doubted that many others would have been able to, let alone want to since it required assisting and accepting Kid as well. I wouldn't have been turned out of a hospital, but by the way Kuroba had been talking, it seemed these assassins I'd never taken much notice of would have gone looking for me.

That brought up more questions. I knew that there had been attacks before this one. _Why had I done nothing about it?_ I didn't want to believe that I was as ignorant as the police.

I had only just started heading for the adjacent room where that held the bed I awoke in when the distinct sounds of a window breaking caught my attention.

The older gentleman was quicker on the uptake than I, and already out the door by the time I had accomplished more than to turn myself around. Walking, standing, breathing - all the pain associated with these medial tasks was easily hid under adrenaline. I stopped and wondered about it for a moment before chastising myself and going to see what had happened.

The old man was in the doorway so viewing was limited. The window that had broke was the one in this room, about two in-a-half feet by three and near head hight. I could see dozens of tables now that the light was allowed in. I walked up beside the man instead of treading on the broken glass to see outside.

Kuroba's mother inadvertently moved closer to him from where she was standing outside, blocking my sight once again. Being taller does have its advantages though, and I was able to place a hand on her shoulder, not inappropriately, and have a looked around. "What's going on?"

A none too sober man answered my question for me by stumbling a few paces towards us. He was heavyset, thick greasy hair parted unevenly across his face. His clothing spoke of hard times and his eyes were narrowed in drunken determination as he waved a whiskey bottle around in his left hand. Several other things registered to me of no consequence. His left shoelace was tied very loosely, on strand somehow defiantly dodging when his other shoe went to take an inebriated step. From his gait and heavy breathing, he may have had a minor health problem. He also had a wallet in his side pocket that he kept touching every now and then to make sure it was still there, as if he weren't used to carrying it in his pants.

"Calm down."

Kuroba's voice startled me, my mind turning back thoughts of defense from several bad pranks he'd pulled on me soon after I had stopped trying to challenge him in the classroom. I'd learned quickly that being near Kuroba was a dangerous pastime in school. If Kid was slippery, Kuroba was ten times worse when he had a home field advantage.

I couldn't see him, though I had heard him. His mother was currently blocking him from my view.

So I moved past her to the point I was nearly out the door when the man suddenly shouted into the night, loud enough to carry several blocks.

"Shut up! You don't get to tell me what to do!"

Kuroba placed his hands into the air, head down. It was the human translation of a wolf baring its throat to another in defeat. "I'm not trying to tell you to do anything."

"Like hell! I heard you! Want me to calm down?"

I could only watch as the man swung the bottle at Kuroba, who was much smaller than his attacker. My worry may have been misplaced. Kuroba raised his forearms and angled it so the bottle slid down, the force of the strike offsetting the man's stance as he tired to do it several times more, only making him more unsteady while it did nothing more than leave a few bruises on my evasive classmate.

Kuroba's mother went to intervene and I unconsciously placed a hand in front of her so that she couldn't pass me. With no idea why I did it, I was left with her glaring at me and trying to figure out myself what to do with the drunkard.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"Because you're here." Kuroba's mother crossed her arms in front of her chest, her eyes traveling to her son in worry. "Kaito told me that they can't know that you're here. It would implicate too many people."

I should have come to that conclusion myself. If I was supposedly in Kid's company after the disasters of tonight, then that would be very hard to explain why I was with Kuroba, not Kid, and this older man who's place of business we were currently residing at. Kuroba may be able to procured some excuse or another, but his older friend would have no such luck.

"The young master will be fine. Please, get back inside before anyone sees you."

I thought of complying with the request. I did owe the man more than I could ever hope to repay, but retreating was not something I took with grace. I was no idiot either. Kuroba was doing a fine job of dancing around the drunk, but he never got far enough to be out of his range. I couldn't tell what he was aiming to do, but Kuroba wasn't running away. Curiosity does not effect me the way it does others. If it did, I wouldn't have spent my whole life trying to become a detective because, Kami knows, it was not in respect of my father. Maybe witnessing the way he worked was what pushed me so hard to prove that there was someone out there who wouldn't bury the truth. Detectives were independent. My father was nothing more than a dog on a leash, told when to sit and stand on command. No, there was no way that I could have been moved.

One swing with Kuroba to close broke the bottle. The magician retreated, nursing his arm while the man advanced on him.

"Inside. Now."

With pure force the older man pushed me back, sending a spike of pain through my body when it moved injured muscles. Additionally, this also shoved Kuroba's mother in before he closed and locked the door. My own movements mixed with Kuroba's or unnatural power the teen seemed to possess, and Kuroba vanished. He was simply gone. The door closed before I could watch the man could shake off his stupor enough to realize his prey was gone.

It wasn't the movement but the crunch of glass that had my attention shift to the other side of the room. Kuroba was there. How he'd gotten in the small window with such speed and ease was astounding. His eyes were set, watching outside as he nearly merged into the connecting wall. There was no need to ask for silence. We all could hear the man outside, cursing and trying to figure out what had happened. I saw his shadow flash across the window before he settled down, muttering about a dream.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Kuroba walked over, shaking his head. "I hate people like that. Sorry Jii-chan, I didn't know he was there until he broke the window."

"It's not your fault, and I see you got what you were after."

Kuroba raise something square and black into the darkness of the room, grinning. "Of course I did."

I stopped myself from asking what it was, searching the ill-light instead for my answer. The unalike way that the two pieces of material met, along with the clasp that glisten off of the small glare from the other room let me identify it as a wallet.

"You robbed the man for breaking the window?"

Kuroba raised an eyebrow, smiling at me. Instead of giving off the appearance of w_hat else did you think I would do?_ his skeptic expression expressed, _you think I did what?_ instead.

"No." Kuroba didn't explain, going over to his mother. "I'll be back later. I won't be home after school though."

"I'll see you when you get back then. Go to sleep, Kaito." She ruffled Kuroba's hair and then shoved him away from her. "You're getting sloppy."

"Thanks Mom." He grinned at her, turning back to me and the old man. "I'm sorry, Jii-chan."

"It's fine." The older man sighed. "I'll go get my supplies. Go to the bathroom."

Kuroba slipped the wallet into his own pocket as he went past me while the old man went to a back room. Of the two, Kuroba was the one I was more interested in, so I accompanied him.

The fluorescent lights of the bathroom flicker on, blinding me. Kuroba sat on the toilet seat and closed his eyes briefly against the light so they could adjust as well. I was going to proceed with my questions about the theft of the man's property. Before I got the chance, a thick streak of blood across the floor, leading towards Kuroba, distracted me.

Kuroba raised an eyebrow again at my look, this time tired.

"Cut myself on the way in. It just got my leg. It's nothing big."

Seeing the same pain and tiredness on someone else reminded me of my own. The adrenaline was long gone and, ignoring my reservations, I sat with my back against the tub so that I had something to lean against.

"Kuroba-kun, I'm to tired to think on it. Explain."

"I'm to tired to explain. Think."

I looked up at him, that stupid annoying grin on his face and all the energy of the world behind it. I looked down again and shook my head, scooting closer to the wall so that I could rest my head.

"Not in the mood for games, huh?" Kuroba kicked me with is leg that wasn't bleeding. I couldn't see the other one and I didn't have enough energy to move. "Fine then, but I'm only explaining this." Kuroba flashed the wallet and then it was gone again in a twirl of his fingers.

"That's a start."

"It's stolen. Even Mom could tell. I'm going to bring it to Nakamori-ojisan in the morning."

"You could tell it was stolen?"

"You couldn't?"

I laughed quietly. I had a feeling that it hadn't been in the possession of its owner, but no proof. I couldn't have done anything if I'd run into the man normally. Kuroba had done what I couldn't and with the best results. "Touché, though the irony in that is astounding."

Kuroba grinned, pleased with himself. "A third of the things I steal are already stollen, or ill-gained."

"Enough of your phenomenally mixed up, yet completely rational logic. What happened tonight?"

"I can't tell you anything else. Jii-chan is right, it will put you in danger."

"I don't care. I'm already in danger."

"It will put you in _more_ danger. Knowing who I am puts you in danger. Chasing me puts you in danger. Being so nosy puts you in danger. Hell, you're living danger and you don't even know it." Kuroba grew quiet. "I don't want to add to it."

I didn't know what to say to that so I replaced it with a question I never thought I would ask him aloud. "Have you ever done anything that hurt someone?"

Kuroba tilted his head. Yes, he was like a puppy. A puppy who would chew on your socks until they had holes in them because it was fun. It didn't really hurt you and it made him happy, so you forgave him.

"I would like to think that I haven't. Why?"

"I just wanted to know." _Though your expression was enough to tell me as much._ "How can you keep going on like you do?"

Kuroba laughed quietly. "I guess I can answer these types of questions, but don't expect details. Have you ever had something that was so important to and then lost it because someone stole it from you? Probably not, but you can imagine it, right? Well, something like that happened to me. I went to get it back. Well, I went to get something back, but it's not really want I want. It's kinda more like something that needs to be taken. On the way, I noticed that other people were after the same thing I was. But they weren't so nice about it. So I make sure that I am. As long as I'm there, people won't get hurt, and they won't get scared. So I can keep doing it, because without me, I'm not so sure those people would still be here today."

I shook my head. "I'm very confused already. You're afraid people will die if you don't steal something?"

"Yes." Kuroba's eyes danced as he moved his gaze from mine to the door where I could hear the old man's approaching footsteps.

I closed my eyes, letting myself relax against the wall. It was cool to the touch and felt good where my exposed skin came in contact with it. "You really won't tell me anything important? I'm going to be as good as walking around blind and in danger from these people who tried to kill me tonight?"

"I can't help that, only you can. And I doubt you'll quit like any _sane_ person would do."

"No, and who are you considering less than sane, Kid?" I couldn't see him but I could guess he was smiling and I obliged. "Not anymore than you can." I made a decision then, that I'd been warring with myself over with since I'm come to the conclusion that I'd been living in a fairy tale as much as Kuroba pretended he was. Ignorance was no excuse for your actions. "You know, I've been lying to the police."

"I know." Kuroba's voice sounded depressed, but what I was doing didn't overly bother me like it had before. They couldn't prove I was lying and, as long as I watched what actions I took, I wouldn't commit any crimes that weren't necessary. If I couldn't watch myself, I would hope Kuroba would be there to do it for me. Maybe I could do it for him as well and we could keep each other in check. Criminals. Concerned citizens. Vigilantes. We were none of the above, though I'm sure a label would fit in someone else's mind. In mine, were were just people.

"I'm sure that if I can manage to break my principles long enough to lie to them, I could assist you, should the police come up with any inventive ways to catch you if you cannot avoid them."

"I can't ask that." Disapproval is one of the feelings that is expressed through more than an expression, so it was easy to pick up on through closed eyes. "Please, try and stay away from me."

"Won't happen." I felt sleep coming on and there was nothing to counteract it with. "I'm a detective and I need a reason for not going after a mystery. As long as I can help, in the little ways, I'll be fine with that. For now at least."

"Fine." Cheekiness was also something that didn't need to be seen. "Let's see how long you can keep that up."


End file.
